Michael Davonta Thomas (born August 16, 1994) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at Southern Miss and was selected by the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

in the sixth round of the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

Early life

Thomas attended DuSable High School in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, where he led the Panthers

team to the state playoffs in 2010.

College career

Thomas started his collegiate career at

College of DuPage College of DuPage is a Public college, public community colleges in the United States, community college with its main campus in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. The college also owns and operates satellite campuses in Addison, Illinois, Addison, Carol St ...

in Glen Ellyn, Illinois in 2012, he transferred to Dodge City Community College in Kansas in 2013. He signed with the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bac ...

after the season. Thomas played at Southern Mississippi from 2014 to 2016.

Professional career

Los Angeles Rams

The

selected Thomas in the sixth round with the 206th overall pick in the

. He was the 25th wide receiver selected. On June 9, 2016, the Rams signed Thomas to a four-year contract along with other Rams rookies. He finished his rookie season with just three receptions for 37 yards. On July 14, 2017, Thomas was suspended the first four games of 2017 for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. On September 17, 2018, Thomas was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

after suffering a groin injury in Week 1. Without Thomas, the Rams reached

Super Bowl LIII Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Confe ...

where they lost 13–3 to the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

Cincinnati Bengals

On March 24, 2020, Thomas signed with the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

. In Week 2 of the 2020 season, Thomas caught his first professional

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

on a four-yard pass from Joe Burrow in the 35–30 loss to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. On March 26, 2021, Thomas re-signed with the Bengals on a one-year contract. Thomas was a key

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

player for the Bengals, often serving as a gunner on kickoffs and punt returns. He was named a starter for the Week 4 game against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

, netting one total reception. He caught a 17-yard pass in the third quarter of

Super Bowl LVI Super Bowl LVI was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 NFL season, 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2021 Los Angeles Rams season, Los Angeles ...

. Thomas re-signed with the Bengals on a one-year contract on March 18, 2022. He was released during final roster cuts on August 30. He was quickly re–signed by the Bengals on September 1. Thomas would retain his role as a gunner and key special teams player for the team. He would start his first game of the season against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

, filling in for an injured Tee Higgins, though he would not get any targets or receptions. Thomas would again be named a starter in Week 8 against the Browns, this time instead of the injured Ja'Marr Chase, he was targeted once in the game but failed to make the reception. Thomas was waived by the Bengals on November 21, 2022.

Baltimore Ravens

On December 20, 2022, Thomas signed with the practice squad of the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 16, 2023. On May 24, Thomas suffered a separated shoulder during organized team activities. Head coach John Harbaugh said that Thomas would require labrum surgery to repair the injury. He was released on July 25, 2023.

References

External links

Southern Miss Golden Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Mike 1994 births Living people American football wide receivers Baltimore Ravens players Cincinnati Bengals players Los Angeles Rams players Players of American football from Chicago Southern Miss Golden Eagles football players